As a Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fan, you prayed he was dismissed early. But on May 16, 2016 at the Eden Gardens your prayers were not supposed to be paid heed to. The reason is simple: a twenty-something guy was at his best smothering the KKR attack to take his team home. But is it really unnatural of Virat Kohli to single-handedly take the responsibility on behalf of his team? Time and again he has proved his worth as a match-winner under the worst of situations.

You may dislike him for his exaggerated aggression, you may hate him for the expletives he hurls at his opponents, but if you are a cricket fanatic, you have to acknowledge the gifted cricketer Virat is. Give him any kind of track, he will emerge out of it unscathed. Look at his perseverance: he is oblivious of the word “give up.” No matter how tough the circumstances are, Virat will never let you down. After ages (yes even keeping in mind the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly & MS Dhoni), here comes an Indian batsman who dominates bowlers at ease. Yes, he is in a different league. The very sight of Virat walking down to bat, makes millions shed pessimism and crave for success.

Be it for India or Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Virat means business. His relentless determination to get his team home in all forms of the game has made him a bigger match-winner than even Dhoni. If Tendulkar got the team off to a flying start, it was left to the rest to take the team over the finishing line. But here’s a cricketer who doesn’t believe in doing his bit and leaving the finishing job to his teammates. “If you have been given a responsibility, discharge it fully,” is Virat’s mantra.

World cricket has seen monsters like Viv Richards, Javed Miandad, Krish Srikkanth, Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle among others. These are batsmen who hated leaving an inch to bowlers, but with due respect, none of them displayed the brilliance Virat does. In terms of technique, you hardly find a fault in him. And following the manual, he adapts to the changing circumstances.

The immaturity is gone. Yes, the aggression remains, but it is complemented by sheer guts to live up to the toughest of challenges. And this is what makes the Delhi boy special. Forget the statistics, just look at the way he handles adversities both on and off the field and comes up trumps.

Yes, it’s a one-man-show or to put it differently a VK show. Come let’s enjoy it even if he is playing against your favourite side. Troll his girl-friend! Blame his love life for the occasional mishaps, but Virat is not the one to throw his hands in despair.

A true champion and an icon!